Minn. Fines Districts Millions of Dollars Over Gender Pay Equity

Two Minnesota school districts face millions of dollars in fines for
failing to comply with the state's gender-pay-equity law. And about a
dozen other school systems are receiving notices of penalties.

The Minneapolis schools have been fined $6.8 million, and the South
Washington County district's fine recently was cut in half to $1.4
million after an appeal, state officials said last week.

South Washington County, a suburb of St. Paul, is still contesting
the state's ruling. Minneapolis officials said they are asking the
state to suspend their fine; they said they can demonstrate that they
are bringing their pay schedules up to snuff.

The school systems are among some 50 cities, counties, and other
public employers under penalty for not complying with the state's 1984
law.

"This is one of the most aggressive, hard-hitting pieces of
legislation" in pay equity, Susan Bianchi-Sand, the executive director
of the National Committee on Pay Equity, said last week.

Minnesota is one of a handful of states trying to close the wage gap
for public workers in male- and female-dominated jobs. Iowa, New York
State, Oregon, Washington State, and Wisconsin have similar laws, but
dozens of other states have begun looking at the issue, Ms.
Bianchi-Sand said.

In Minnesota, the state's 1982 findings on unequal pay among male
and female state employees sparked interest in setting some standards,
Faith Zwemke, the pay-equity coordinator for the state department of
employee relations, said. Soon after, the movement trickled into local
governments and schools.

Out in Front

Most state pay-equity laws were passed in the mid- to late 1980's,
said Ms. Bianchi-Sand, whose 15-year-old coalition of civil-rights
groups, women's organizations, and unions lobbies for fair wages.

At that time, large numbers of women were entering the workplace but
were being paid about 59 cents for every dollar earned by their male
colleagues, she said.

Some observers said there has been more sensitivity to fair pay and
equal treatment in education--a field dominated by women.

"The teaching profession is further ahead on this because it has so
many public-sector workers and because the unions have really made it
an issue," Ms. Bianchi-Sand said.

Under the Minnesota law, the state analyzes the salaries of men and
women in jobs of comparable value, figures the average time it takes
men and women to reach maximum salaries, and looks at other factors
such as longevity and performance pay, Ms. Zwemke said.

For example, the state could compare how districts pay custodial
workers, usually men, and paraprofessionals, who typically are
women.

Local governments were fined the greater of $100 a day or a 5
percent reduction in state aid for failing some of the state's tests,
Ms. Zwemke added.

The school districts that had not complied with the law when they
reported to the state in 1992 had a grace period to bring their systems
into line. Those that failed to do so were fined.

Ninety-seven percent of the 1,600 public employers affected by the
law escaped penalty, Ms. Zwemke said.

But 53 local governments and school districts were charged from $730
to $6.8 million--the Minneapolis district's fine.

'A Long Way'

South Washington County, a district of about 14,000 students, is
appealing the state's decision but hopes to avoid court action, Perry
Palin, the district's human-resources manager, said.

First, the district wants to try negotiating with the
employee-relations department.

"What we're arguing about is a technical finding," Mr. Palin said.
"During the grace period, we thought we came into compliance--and the
state disagreed."

State officials found that the district failed to meet their
standards for a period of a year and a half.

But Mr. Palin said the district was forced to report a mixture of
current- and prior-year salaries because some local unions had not
finished bargaining before the state's deadline.

"Our school district--along with a lot of others--has come a long
way," he said. "We've spent over a third of a million dollars since '86
adding to base salaries."

The 44,000-student Minneapolis district is waiting for the state to
respond to a request that the $6.8 million fine be thrown out. Katrina
Reed, the director of labor relations for the schools, said she
believes the district now only needs to spend about $250,000 to meet
the state's guidelines.

Mr. Palin and other school officials, however, still praised the
state for moving in the right direction.

"We're all in favor of the concept. We really want to see our female
employees paid fairly," Mr. Palin said.

Ms. Bianchi-Sand predicted a second wave of action in the states
where some groups are already lobbying for pay-equity laws.

"This is an issue that's on the minds of working women and people of
color," she said. "The [wage] gap is still too big."

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.